iPhone XS Max Is the mobile reception on the xs Max even worse than iPhone X ?

[cableguy84]

I would say disappointing for sure that a new phone doesn’t work as well as your prior phones.

I know there are many on this thread that have had no problems with their 2018 phones. But for the ones that have had the issues and the lack of acknowledgement or being able to fix the problem by Apple, it’s plenty disappointing.

Maybe the 2020 phones with the Qualcomm modems will be back to old standards and actually work well for all the users.

I think you are taking your qualcomm obsession way too far.
There were a ton of intel chips in iphone 8 and there have not been any major reception problems reported with those phones or the X.
I have a intel 8 plus. Had reception issues this was due to a faulty sim card. Changing the sim card resolved the reception issue phone has been fine since.

 

[uecker87]

The PCMag article specifically addresses signal strength (dBm) ... along with transmission speeds at that signal level. I am not sure how you can deny that.

It has been my experience that if I am in a limited coverage area, in my area, as defined by say OpenSignal, the XS scores at or above the average reported.

Connectivity issues would translate into lower transmission rates reported (no connectivity implies no transmission) and hence averages would be lower. As shown in the reports, the XS series reports higher transmission rates than prior generations.

I respectfully disagree with your overall conclusion.

I do agree however that sometimes the carrier profiles seem to direct the phone to use a band that may not have as much signal strength. (Lower signal strength however does not imply lower transmission rates depending on the band.) This is the carrier however and not necessarily the fault of the phone. This would go for any phone.

Good debate.

Show me where in the PC Mag article that it compares LTE RSRP values between phones on the same cell site, sector, and LTE band?

You are hell bent on transmission rates. That is not at all what I am talking about. All that article does is show the transmission rates/speeds at a given RSRP value. Not what each phone has for RSRP values in a given spot.

Guaranteed if you get pretty much any recent Android phone or a Qualcomm iPhone 8 and compare LTE RSRP dBm levels for both phones while in the exact same spot on the exact same cell site/sector/band you will see a noticeable difference with the new iPhones being anywhere from 3 - 9 dBm lower.

Example: I have an iPhone XS Max in one spot where it gets a -110 dBm value on band 4. Lets say I get 30 mbps there - great. Lets say a Galaxy S10 has a -104 dBm RSRP on the same site/sector/band and gets 30 mbps. Now lets say I walk down in my basement and the iPhone XS Max drops down to a -105 dBm value on band 12 due to it not picking up band 4 anymore and as a result of being on the crowded LTE band speeds lower to .5 mbps. Meanwhile the Galaxy S10 is still on band 4 with a -115 dBm signal and pulling 20 mbps.

See the difference?

 

[Nhwhazup]

I think you are taking your qualcomm obsession way too far.
There were a ton of intel chips in iphone 8 and there have not been any major reception problems reported with those phones or the X.
I have a intel 8 plus. Had reception issues this was due to a faulty sim card. Changing the sim card resolved the reception issue phone has been fine since.

I’m surely not obsessed with having a Qualcomm modem - just want a phone that works. I went from a great working 6S Plus to 2 Maxes (6 weeks apart) with terrible reception problems to an X that also works great - all with the same carrier and same SIM.

 

[mcvaughan]

Signal strength is definitely worse with the XS and the Intel modem. It's quite noticeable.

 

[kneezmo]

hold on guys, on 2020 iPhone return with Qualcomm modems Just wait one more year

 

[The Oak]

Show me where in the PC Mag article that it compares LTE RSRP values between phones on the same cell site, sector, and LTE band?

You are hell bent on transmission rates. That is not at all what I am talking about. All that article does is show the transmission rates/speeds at a given RSRP value. Not what each phone has for RSRP values in a given spot.

Guaranteed if you get pretty much any recent Android phone or a Qualcomm iPhone 8 and compare LTE RSRP dBm levels for both phones while in the exact same spot on the exact same cell site/sector/band you will see a noticeable difference with the new iPhones being anywhere from 3 - 9 dBm lower.

Example: I have an iPhone XS Max in one spot where it gets a -110 dBm value on band 4. Lets say I get 30 mbps there - great. Lets say a Galaxy S10 has a -104 dBm RSRP on the same site/sector/band and gets 30 mbps. Now lets say I walk down in my basement and the iPhone XS Max drops down to a -105 dBm value on band 12 due to it not picking up band 4 anymore and as a result of being on the crowded LTE band speeds lower to .5 mbps. Meanwhile the Galaxy S10 is still on band 4 with a -115 dBm signal and pulling 20 mbps.

See the difference?

The average transmission rates for the XS series has increased prior to any iPhone as per the links. On average, one will have a better experience with an XS series than with any other iPhone. One link even compared an X to the XS on a specific band at varying dBm levels ... the XS outperformed the X on all dBm levels. (The same study even had Google and Samsung phones in comparison - is this not what you are looking for???)

I respectfully disagree on your conclusions with regards to the XS series and older generation iPhones. The links I feel do not support your conclusions.

 

[uecker87]

The average transmission rates for the XS series has increased prior to any iPhone as per the links. On average, one will have a better experience with an XS series than with any other iPhone. One link even compared an X to the XS on a specific band at varying dBm levels ... the XS outperformed the X on all dBm levels. (The same study even had Google and Samsung phones in comparison - is this not what you are looking for???)

I respectfully disagree on your conclusions with regards to the XS series and older generation iPhones. The links I feel do not support your conclusions.

Ha - you are completely ignoring my conclusions. You are ONLY comparing transmission rates. Not the overall reception in terms of areas where a phone can successfully connect. How are you missing my point? I am not comparing what SPEEDS a phone gets at varying dBm levels. I am comparing the ACTUAL dBm signal values. This is absurd.

You must've completely ignored my example. Those studies are comparing the TRANSMISSION speeds for each phone while receiving the exact same signal level. Not WHERE you can get those signal levels or the signal level COMPARISON between the devices in the exact same location. You are stuck on SPEEDS. I am talking about actual SIGNAL levels - pure RSRP dBm values regarding LTE coverage. Again for the 20th time - NOT SPEEDS.

You are acting very dense and not willing to understand where I am coming from. You are stuck on your own conclusions and won't accept anything other than what your mind is set to. I will respectfully leave this conversation. If you looked at my example and read through it you should be able to understand what I am talking about. Not everyone lives in a dense metro area with dense LTE coverage including multiple bands in all locations. It works for you - great. Obviously not everyone. Hence why this thread has existed since launch.

 

[The Oak]

Ha - you are completely ignoring my conclusions. You are ONLY comparing transmission rates. Not the overall reception in terms of areas where a phone can successfully connect. How are you missing my point? I am not comparing what SPEEDS a phone gets at varying dBm levels. I am comparing the ACTUAL dBm signal values. This is absurd.

You must've completely ignored my example. Those studies are comparing the TRANSMISSION speeds for each phone while receiving the exact same signal level. Not WHERE you can get those signal levels or the signal level COMPARISON between the devices in the exact same location. You are stuck on SPEEDS. I am talking about actual SIGNAL levels - pure RSRP dBm values regarding LTE coverage. Again for the 20th time - NOT SPEEDS.

You are acting very dense and not willing to understand where I am coming from. You are stuck on your own conclusions and won't accept anything other than what your mind is set to. I will respectfully leave this conversation. If you looked at my example and read through it you should be able to understand what I am talking about. Not everyone lives in a dense metro area with dense LTE coverage including multiple bands in all locations. It works for you - great. Obviously not everyone. Hence why this thread has existed since launch.

As I initially stated ... we will have to agree to disagree.

Do you have links with data that demonstrate your point???

 

[uecker87]

As I initially stated ... we will have to agree to disagree.

Do you have links with data that demonstrate your point???

Ha - okay. Anyway here is a post I had last fall demonstrating one of my points: https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...nectivity-issues.2142500/page-4#post-26562175

You can choose to keep ignoring it though. Obviously you don't understand the difference between speed and actually receiving a signal / having a usable signal. I'll show myself the door.

Again - this whole thread isn't some made up conspiracy. People are having real life issues. The fact that you feel the need to be in this thread and basically call people liars because you aren't experiencing the problem is rather telling. If you have no issues with this then why even waste your time reading about it? Why not go to other topics stating how amazing your iPhone is with LTE connectivity?

 

[DotCom2]

hold on guys, on 2020 iPhone return with Qualcomm modems Just wait one more year

LOL! Sure looks like that now, huh? I think I won't be ordering anymore iPhones on launch day and going to wait for reviews. It was a hassle returning 3 iPhones.

 

[kneezmo]

LOL! Sure looks like that now, huh? I think I won't be ordering anymore iPhones on launch day and going to wait for reviews. It was a hassle returning 3 iPhones.

Me too. I usually waith 2-3 months to see what happens, and after, if all its ok, then i get the product. I read a lot about next gen iPhone, and still think best moment to renew the device its 2020.. this year will be the same in terms of design, with a few new things.

 

[diego.caraballo]

iOS 12.3 updated the firmware modem on my XS and immediately after restart I noticed that it have an extra 1 or 2 bars across the house. Download speed went from 40’s something to 80’s. Upload speed still in the 1 MBs. Carrier version still the same.

 

[threeonthetree]

iOS 12.3 updated the firmware modem on my XS and immediately after restart I noticed that it have an extra 1 or 2 bars across the house. Download speed went from 40’s something to 80’s. Upload speed still in the 1 MBs. Carrier version still the same.

I will try to upgrade but being out of Canada, where we have great reception for the most part, I just noticed how weak the reception is of my Xr and Xs Max compared to my 6S! There were lots of places where I get two bars on my 6S and nothing at all on my Xr and Xs Max. That’s crazy for an extremely overpriced iPhones

 

[I7guy]

I will try to upgrade but being out of Canada, where we have great reception for the most part, I just noticed how weak the reception is of my Xr and Xs Max compared to my 6S! There were lots of places where I get two bars on my 6S and nothing at all on my Xr and Xs Max. That’s crazy for an extremely overpriced iPhones

I noticed the opposite. A speedtest inside of the house was fairly miserable with the 6s, like 10-15 down and 4 up. Now I'm getting around 75 down. (This with 12.3)

 

[PrettyWings]

Wouldn't say so. Have had absolutely no noticeable difference between reception on both phones. Reception has been wonderful.

 

[bushman4]

It appears that Apple has resolved the problem which is evident by the lack of traffic in this thread
This was a problem after launch but now 6 months later things are good and hopefully will be better with the new Qualcomm modems in 2019 models

 

[The Oak]

It appears that Apple has resolved the problem which is evident by the lack of traffic in this thread
This was a problem after launch but now 6 months later things are good and hopefully will be better with the new Qualcomm modems in 2019 models

Folks are not anticipating Qualcomm in 2019. Time will tell of course.

2020 however should have Qualcomm across the board as they have 5G.

 

[ajguckian]

I've never had good luck with cell phone reception in general, and recency bias is definitely making me think that the Xs Max is the worst to date. I'm not savvy enough to know the differences between modems and whatnot though, so I'll probably just keep blaming my cell provider.

 

[GP-SE]

hopefully will be better with the new Qualcomm modems in 2019 models

2020 for Qualcomm.

 

[Kimmie92592]

It appears that Apple has resolved the problem which is evident by the lack of traffic in this thread
This was a problem after launch but now 6 months later things are good and hopefully will be better with the new Qualcomm modems in 2019 models

Problems are NOT resolved. I've been back and forth with Apple and T-Mobile, still not resolved.

 

[lex22]

Problems are NOT resolved. I've been back and forth with Apple and T-Mobile, still not resolved.

I agree. I have given up complaining and I'll just have to learn to live with it.

 

[Kimmie92592]

I agree. I have given up complaining and I'll just have to learn to live with it.

So much time wasted. Spent almost two hours on the phone with T-Mobile last night. They said, oh we're going to get you a new phone. Then they transferred me to someone else. Then they called me back today, then they transferred me to Apple, I spent 30-40 minutes on the phone with Apple, Apple says it's all T-Mobile's fault. I'm not buying anymore iPhones. I'm so mad right now. I've had iPhones only since 2010, never a problem. This phone is a disaster. If you don't already have one, avoid it like the plague.

 

[Jessemtz25]

I have an X upgraded from 6S Plus and it is lightyears better on reception. I particularly love the great connection I always have with the iPhone X.

 

[Nhwhazup]

I have an X upgraded from 6S Plus and it is lightyears better on reception. I particularly love the great connection I always have with the iPhone X.

Same here.

 

[Stuart6]

It appears that Apple has resolved the problem which is evident by the lack of traffic in this thread
This was a problem after launch but now 6 months later things are good and hopefully will be better with the new Qualcomm modems in 2019 models

Mine has gotten better, but it is still not ideal. Spotty areas still continue to be a challenge when my iphone 7 could at least get a connection and work, but my Xs struggles and even drops connection. I have learnt to live with it, but I am not very pleased with it, that's for sure. Relying on an older phone at my workplace just to get connection is still weird and not ideal.